Book 2, Chapter 26 - Reaper

Even approaching the derelict Reaper, I still thought we were being led into a trap. My trust of and in the Illusive Man, which had never been high to begin with, was now zero. But he was the only one feeding me information, so unfortunately, I had to rely on it. Standing by Joker as we exited the final relay, he flicked his way through various screens until we could just about see it in the distance.

"You know, even after what happened on the Citadel, just seeing one of these things again freaks me out a little bit," my pilot stated.

"You and me both."

"Yet you're still getting on the thing?"

"Have to, Joker. Without the IFF, all of our work so far is for nothing. But, as I've told the others, we get on, grab the IFF, and get the fuck out of there. We are not messing around while on a Reaper."

We both grew quiet as the Reaper loomed ever larger ahead of us. Whatever had shot it had done a far amount of damage, though considering how old this Reaper was, whatever civilisation had killed it was long ago dead. Perhaps a last climactic event before they'd been wiped out. We'd already managed to kill one Reaper, and that had taken all the power of a single fleet. Taking on an armada of these things didn't bear thinking about.

The Normandy started to shake and rattle on our approach, my grip on the back of Joker's chair tightening as it grew steadily worse. Soon enough, I was nearly being shaken from my feet, using both hands to hold onto Joker. He was seated securely, of course, I should have been, like everyone else, but I wanted to watch.

"No idea, Commander. The wind's gusting up to 500 k/ph. I'm doing my best to hold the old girl steady but even my talents are being stretched."

"Just get us there in one piece, Joker."

"Aye, Commander."

"Shepard, I have detected a second ship currently sitting alongside the Reaper. Its signature suggests it is a geth ship."

"Fantastic, EDI. Just what we need."

The shaking got so bad, I really thought my ship was going to disintegrate into a thousand pieces and I'd be thrown to my death again. And I didn't think I'd be brought back to life a second time. Fairly sure Cerberus wouldn't want to spend another four billion bringing me back.

But as bad as it got, the ship then suddenly calmed completely and cheers quickly erupted from behind me as I stepped forward, looking at Joker. "Hmm. You may not like this one, Commander."

"What?" I asked, completely deadpan.

"The Reaper's mass effect fields are still active. We just passed inside the envelope."

"Still active? I thought this thing was meant to be, you know, dead?"

Joker could only shrug in reply. "You're asking the wrong man about that one, Commander."

"Shit." We gazed out front as the Reaper was now dead in front of us. It was enormous, I think even bigger than Sovereign, though I had never seen that ship up close. Joker whistled, and if he was impressed, then it must have been large. "Thirty-seven million years old, and it's still in good condition, or so it seems," I muttered, "Guess nothing dies in space. But I don't like the idea that's mass effect field is still operative. Surely that must mean it's still somehow alive?" Joker just looked up at me and shrugged. "Yeah, that's what I thought. EDI?"

"Yes, Shepard?"

"Have the team meet me down by the shuttle. We'll have to transport ourselves that way. Joker, once we're on board, pull back to the edge of the mass effect envelope. If we need to bug out, come in, collect, then we go. Hopefully, though, it all should go… well, I won't say smoothly but…"

"No jinxing it, Commander."

I'd already grabbed all my gear, so I headed back to the elevator. I did stop for thirty seconds as Kelly looked desperate to give me a hug. She didn't say too much, I guess not to jinx it again, simply giving me a soft kiss on my cheek and wished me good luck before letting me go. I returned a grin and a wink just before the doors shut.

The team I'd selected was waiting down by the shuttle. This time, I went for pure firepower. Zaeed, Grunt, Garrus, Jack, Samara and myself. Miranda would remain on the ship in the event something terrible went wrong and she could report to the Illusive Man. Everyone else still popped down to wish us luck. I hadn't been shy in giving my opinion, but they were also confident I'd drag them through hell if I could guarantee them victory and survival.

The shuttle ride barely took five minutes, watching the screens on either side, one looking at the Reaper, the other at the Normandy immediately retreating to a safe distance. The shuttle pilot would drop us and return to the ship as well. I didn't want anyone exposed for any longer than necessary, concerned enough that we would probably spend too long on the derelict Reaper.

Once on board, the shuttle took off and that left the six of us to deal with whatever we found. The Illusive Man hadn't been hopeful about finding the research team. Neither was I. They were either dead or had been turned crazy by being on board the ancient ship. Within a couple of minutes, the silence was deafening. No sign of life whatsoever. The word I thought was creepy, like the start of a horror movie, just waiting for the first jump scare. That feelings which crawls up your back, ready to give you one hell of a fright.

Cerberus had come prepared as we found numerous mobile laboratories, filled with half-finished experiments, research terminals, workstations that came with audio and video recordings. I opened my comm link back to the ship, thankful that we could still communicate, at least. "Miranda, you heard of or worked with a Doctor Chandana?"

"Not worked, Shepard, but the name is familiar. Respected scientist within the organisation and a real fascination with anything to do with the Reapers. Explains his selection to lead the taskforce sent in by the Illusive Man."

"He's probably dead."

"They're all dead, Shepard. I don't think anyone expects survivors. Not even the Illusive Man. Just get the IFF so we can get out of here. Just being this far away from the ship gives me the creeps."

"Try being on it!" I retorted with humour before switching off the link.

We moved on, and it was obvious that Cerberus had spent plenty of time, money and manpower on setting up everything, walking along a series of corridors, everything well lit, almost like being back on Lazarus Station rather than inside a millions year old Reaper. But I'm sure I wasn't the only one seriously creeped out by now. Then there was a large bang followed by the Reaper being shaken by god only knows what. I looked around to be greeted by more than one pair of eyes now fully alert. "Weapons ready," I ordered, before opening the comm link again, "Normandy, report."

"The Reaper just put up its kinetic barriers."

"Isn't this thing supposed to be dead?" Garrus asked.

"Maybe there will soon be big monsters to kill!" Grunt stated enthusiastically. No real surprise there.

"Shepard, there is bound to be a core to the Reaper that powers the barriers. If you can get to the core and shut it down, the barriers will go with it."

"Yay, let's all walk to the middle of a derelict Reaper." I paused for a moment before sighing. "Have the shuttle pilot on standby, Miranda. This isn't going to be easy." Switching off the link again, I turned to the other five. "Weapons free and hot. We shoot anything that moves which isn't a human. And, before you ask, I doubt Cerberus has asari or turians working here. Full human crew." I paused, then thought of a rather important question. "EDI, where is the core?"

"At the moment of activation, I detected a heat spike in what is likely the wreck's mass effect core. Sending the co-ordinates to you all now. A warning, Shepard."

"What is it, EDI?"

"The core powers the barriers while also maintaining the Reapers altitude within the proximity of the planet."

"So this fucking thing is alive?" Jack asked, trying to keep the fear out of her tone.

I could only shrug before replying, "It's dead in the sense that it won't kill us all. But it clearly still has power and no doubt it's indoctrinated everyone in here. So, as I said, we get this done quickly."

We moved on and now there was noise as weapons were pointed everywhere. Any noise caused a swinging of all weapons, or hearing the noise of biotics being powered up and readied to fling. We did eventually find a pile of bodies, dried blood and bullet holes lining the wall behind them. Could only guess they'd been shot by a fellow scientist. We didn't bother checking if anyone was alive.

Deeper into the Reaper we walked, feeling as if we were in the very centre. It was truly cavernous, like something none of us had ever seen before. Then we heard a noise and, when the noise turned into a growl, I knew what was coming.

"Husks!" I cried, immediately summoning biotics, ready to move. As soon as the first few appeared, I charged, hearing Grunt's shotgun blasting away. Silence was replaced by a cacophony of noise, the thump of biotics and firing of weapons as I lost count of the number of husks I sent flying or blasted away with my trusty shotgun. I barely had a chance to look to see Grunt seemingly covered in husks, flinging them away, stamping into the head of one while blasting two away at once with his shotgun. The rest of my team assisted, husks falling at their feet.

It was a short, sharp battle, but clearly a sign of things to come. And it was now obvious as to what happened to the research team. Walking into another laboratory a couple of minutes later, we found further evidence they'd been indoctrinated, complaining about headaches, visions and nightmares as they sleep, clear evidence the Reaper, while 'dead', could still effect people.

"If any of you start suffering even a minor headache, tell me immediately," I ordered, meeting every set of eyes and making sure they nodded.

Far in the distance, we could see spikes upon which bodies had been places. Clearly not to become husks, these looked like sacrifices. Jack would normally celebrate seeing dead Cerberus people, but not even she could find joy in it.

Now that our presence was known, we ran into more enemies. Husks continued to flood forward, but more Reaper monsters approached us. Those big Scion things we'd named came forward, and they were a bitch to take down, having to rely on my assault rifle instead of biotics. Get too close and I'd be mincemeat. Grunt got in close, of course, and paid for it with blood, though he was usually lucky to keep all four limbs.

Meeting the occasional group of husks and other monsters, we kept moving on. At least it was no longer silent, so that stopped the fear from overcoming us. I always found having monsters to kill a good distraction. We found another workstation nearby and that had a video log. None of us would have recognised the face that greeted us, but the blood spatter on his face spoke volumes in addition to what he had to say.

"Chandana said the ship was dead. We trusted him. He was right. But even a dead god can dream. A god — a real god — is a verb. Not some old man with magic powers. It's a force. It warps reality just by being there. It doesn't have to want to. It doesn't have to think about it. It just does. That's what Chandana didn't get. Not until it was too late. The god's mind is gone but it still dreams. He knows now. He's tuned in on our dreams. If I close my eyes I can feel him. I can feel every one of us."

"You know, fuck you, Shepard, for bringing me onto this fucking Reaper," Jack shouted. I glanced her way, and there was no anger at all. Only fear. Garrus shuffled uncomfortably. The only one who looked serene as always was Samara, though she hid her feelings well.

Through the next door and the chamber was just full of Reaper monsters wanting to kill us. I charged left, right, front, back, blasting away, going so far as to use the butt of my shotgun when I'd run out of bullets before reloading. Still plenty of husks but other monsters the Reapers seemed to like using, more evidence the Collectors were their agents. Each battle never lasted longer than a few minutes at most, leaving the monsters did, and the six of us covered in sweat, blood, Reaper… blood, I guess, and also small wounds we could either ignore, or slightly larger wounds which needed medi-gel.

Busy checking my omni-tool to see where we should head next, I heard the crack of a rifle, immediately looking up at its origin, assault rifle from my back in a second, eye to the scope. "Geth!"

I would have opened fire normally, but it… held up a hand. As if in greeting. My finger, which had been on the trigger, moved away as I lowered my assault rifle. "Take the shot, Shepard?" Garrus asked.

"Shepard-Commander," the geth stated.

"Okay, you all just heard it, right?" I asked. Before I could say anything else, or anyone else could open fire, the geth turned and disappeared from sight. "What the fuck was that about?"

"Why are the geth here?" Zaeed asked. It was unusual he'd ask such a question. If he asked, then it must be bloody interesting indeed.

"No fucking idea, but it explains the geth ship outside," I replied, "The geth were allied with the Reapers and Saren originally. Haven't seen any other geth so maybe it's… fuck, I don't know. Let's just move on."

We moved on, and though the Reaper may not have technically been alive, it still managed to send hordes of monsters to stop our progress. We were all taking minor wounds by now, shields and armour can only do so much, particularly if you're someone like Grunt or myself, in the thick of the action. Husks were not a problem. It was anything else that could lop an arm, leg or even head off if even a tiny mistake is made. It didn't make Grunt take any care, but with the numbers we were facing, I eventually linked up with Jack and Samara, combining our biotic talents to cause no end of destruction.

No matter what, we pushed on, though I was starting to feel the strain, feeling my body just bathed in sweat. Glancing at Jack, she was in the same condition. She might have had biotic ability coming out her arse, but she was still human. Samara was the complete opposite, serene as always. Enough to make someone else just a little bit jealous.

Cerberus had obviously taken over nearly the entire Reaper. At the moment, we had no classification of different Reapers. We had no idea if there were different sizes. Sovereign had been enormous but this Reaper felt, on the surface, even larger. We'd been walking and fighting for what felt like hours by now. EDI kept us up to date with our progress, letting us know how close we were to the core every couple of hundred metres.

We fought every inch of the way until EDI informed us the core lay ahead through the next door. The six of us took a moment to check weapons, fill ammo, slap medi-gel on any wounds, or just took the chance to take a deep breath, wipe the brow of sweat, and ready oneself for whatever lay on the other side of the door.

I don't think any of us expected the chamber to be empty, the enormous mass effect core of the Reaper shining rather brightly in the distance. And standing around a hundred metres away at a console was the geth we'd seen earlier. Or, at least, I think it was. Geth all looked the same to me. Before any of us could react, at least a dozen husks converged on it. We'd crossed half of the chamber when all hell broke loose, Reaper monsters flooding in from all sides.

There were no tactics. I charged and blasted… continuously. I heard the thump of biotics from Jack and Samara, and the blast of a second shotgun, but I was far too busy just charging about myself. The dead Reaper must have known what we were up to, or everything sent our way was automation, or there were still indoctrinated people we hadn't found. Grunt eventually went down under the sheet weight of enemies he was fighting, so I had to charge, knock at least half a dozen off him, and then we stood back and back and blasted. Garrus and Zaeed joined us, turning us into a three-sixty wheel of death. I'm sure it looked rather amusing.

"This is fuckin' insane," Zaeed yelled over the gunfire.

"Just kill the fucking things!"

"This is what I get for leaving Omega, Shepard," Garrus muttered.

Jack was now just sending shockwave after shockwave, sending husks, scions and any other creature flying, with Samara pulling, throwing and warping anything that wasn't part of our team. Slowly but surely, we gained the upper hand, bodies just piling up around us. I ordered us to move towards the IFF, EDI stating it was near where the geth was now lying on the ground. Whether it was dead or not, I couldn't be sure.

Grabbing the IFF, we turned and mowed down the remaining Reaper monsters, and when the last one finally died, I think we all just about slumped the floor exhausted. "Okay, what about the geth?" Garrus asked.

"What about it?"

"Well, it seemed… friendly, or at least an ally. Aren't you wondering why it's here?"

I met his eyes and shrugged. "Honestly, not really. It's a geth. I usually shoot the bastards."

"This one had an opportunity to shoot you but didn't. Maybe it's here for a reason?"

It was a sound argument. "Okay, Grunt, I'll set this core to blow up. Grab the geth and then we'll get out of here. Normandy?"

"Reading you, Commander."

"Head towards the Reaper. Open the hangar bay so we can just climb on board. I want us away by the time the core explodes."

"Heading your way now, Commander."

Grunt picked up the geth unit as I set about causing an explosion I'd love to see but I wanted to be sure we were well out of the way by the time it did. "Ready to move, people?" Receiving positive replies, I set the core to explode in five minutes. Grunt had the geth unit and we jogged quickly back the way we'd come. Thankfully all the doors were open, and all we had to do was make sure we didn't tumble over the piles of bodies we'd left in our wake.

The Normandy was exactly where I asked it to meet us, making sure the crew was on board first before I climbed aboard, yelling out to Joker to depart straight away. I felt the ship move, glancing back to see the door raise into position. Never heard nor saw the explosion, though I'm sure it would have looked spectacular.

Thanking the crew for their assistance, I had Grunt take the geth unit upstairs. Unsure where to leave it, I had it placed in the AI core with EDI, though she made sure it was shielded and couldn't hack into our ship. I also had Tali head up from engineering, and she was ready to have a fit before realising it was dead, or at least not working. "Why did you bring it?" she asked.

"Garrus was under the impression it was trying to communicate with us. While I don't trust geth, he did make a good point. Might be worth trying to talk to it. Can you wake it up?"

"I should be able to get it running. Do you want me present otherwise?"

"Up to you, Tali."

"I'll see. Not doing it now?"

"No. First thing EDI is doing is running a test on this IFF. Well, more than one. EDI, I want this thing checked thoroughly before we install it. I don't want to be caught with my pants down again."

"Of course, Shepard. I will notify you once I'm assured the IFF will pose no danger to the ship or crew."

"Thanks, EDI."

Satisfied that neither the geth nor the IFF would post an immediate threat, though I still posted guards by the AI core, and asked Chakwas to remain vigilant with whatever lay behind her, I headed up to the CIC to check for any messages before heading up to the cabin. I really needed a shower as I was probably covered in a film of dried sweat. Dumping my armour on the floor, I found the hot water refreshing, leaning forward against the wall as the exhaustion just hit me like a tonne of bricks.

"Want some company?" I heard Kelly asked, glancing to see she was already naked, walking towards me.

I turned and embraced her as she stepped into my arms, leaning down for a soft kiss. "You look exhausted, Shepard."

"I don't think I've used my biotics so much yet. I'll definitely need a large meal later to restore some energy. Jack wasn't feeling much better."

"At least you're back alive, Shepard."

I met her eyes and smirked. "Were you worried, Miss Chambers?" I asked softly.

Resting her head against my chest, I gave her a little squeeze. "The closer we get to finishing this, the more nervous I get. Then I start thinking about what happens afterwards."

"Thinking of the future?"

"Of course. Don't you?"

"Trying not to, in all honesty. I don't want to die again, and I don't want anyone else to die. But what we're doing… there will be casualties." I paused before adding, "And now we have a geth on board. I really don't know what to make of it."

"Why did you bring it?"

I chuckled. "I blame Garrus, though he made a good point. It looked like it was trying to help, or at least communicate. I've never seen a geth operating alone either. They usually work in packs. Tali explained that the more geth around, the smarter they were. And this geth actually spoke, said my name, so they must be aware of my return."

Kelly helped me clean myself up, her soft hands running all over my body, which certainly provoked the reaction you'd expect. So once I was clean, I turned off the shower and threw her over my shoulder, earning plenty of squeals and giggles before I sat down on the couch with her on my lap. She immediately kissed me, lifting herself up and sliding down my cock, and then rested as she simply gazed at me for a few moments. "Love you," she whispered.

"You were definitely worried."

"Of course. Isn't that what your girlfriend is supposed to do?"

"Oh, we've upgraded to girlfriend now, have we?"

"Well, I am up here every night. And..." I cut her off with a deep kiss that made her whimper and me almost growl into her mouth, spinning her so she was on her back on the couch, feeling her legs split apart as I buried myself inside her. "So you don't mind the idea then, Shepard?" she asked, needing to take a breath.

I answered by starting to gently thrust into her, leaning down and simply kissing her, feeling her left leg wrap around my hip. "I love it. Though… I think I have more than one on that basis."

"Don't care. Get you most of the time."

There wasn't much more talking over the next few minutes. For some reason, she just needed me in that moment, and the day I said no to sex with Kelly Chambers is the day I cut my dick off as there would be no point having it otherwise. Soon, both her legs were around me, feeling her heels dig in, fingers digging into my back as I picked up the tempo of my thrusts, leaning down to kiss and gently bite her neck, hearing her moan into my ear. I knew all her zones that would turn her on.

"Shepard," she breathed.

"Love a good post mission fuck, Kelly. You know me well."

"I just… I just needed you right now."

I raised my head and gave her a soft kiss, despite the fact I was fucking her now. "No complaints at all."

Feeling my orgasm approach, I wanted her to cum as well, so managed to manoeuvre so I was on my back. She grinned as she leaned forward, watching her face light up as I was now hitting all the right spots. "Fuck me," she cried quietly. I didn't need asking twice. Now it was simply about timing, and a broad grin formed as she understood what I was trying to do.

"Keep going," I whispered, our eyes not parting. I could read those and know when she was getting close.

"Nearly there," she whispered back.

She felt wonderful as always. I loved how wet she got, as it certainly made it better when eating her out, and she seemed to get even wetter when riding me, turned on as she was. And feeling her start to squeeze my cock as she approached her orgasm, that's when I started to thrust up into her, needing my own release.

I was holding back for as long as possible, and when she started to make those little sounds, those little body movements, and really starting to squeeze my cock as she started to cum, that's when I thrust around half a dozen times at most before I came hard inside her, groaning loudly as she rested herself on my chest, holding her rather tightly as it felt like I almost blacked out for a moment.

Lying together in relative silence for a few minutes, she eventually raised her head to meet my eyes. "Well, that's better," she stated with humour.

"Just needed a bit of Shepard time?"

"I needed some of your dick, Shepard. Sometimes, that's all I want. Nothing but you inside me."

"Well, I'm certainly not complaining about that."

Lifting herself up off me, we staggered over to the bed where she could snuggle into my side as I lay on my back, enjoying the feeling of her skin against my body, so soft compared to my hard body. We lay like that for a little while before I eventually needed a nap, woken after an hour or so, informed that it was dinner time. I just threw on a pair of jeans, shirt and my shoes before heading downstairs. Everyone was present, even Jack, though she looked as exhausted as I still felt. Samara looked like she'd been lazing about all day on the ship. Show off.

"I've informed the Illusive Man of our success," Miranda reported, "Though I did not mention the geth."

"Because of Overlord?" I wondered.

"And other reasons, Shepard. When do you plan on waking it?"

"Tomorrow. I don't want to deal with it tonight. All I want is sleep."

"You and me both," Jack muttered, half-asleep at the table next to mine.

"If there is nothing else that is required, we will head to Illium for a last hurrah, then we go straight to the Omega Four. Though I told everyone to approach me about anything personal prior to getting the IFF, knowing that it is Reaper technology and not something to fuck around with, EDI will be checking it. Plus, having a geth on board complicates matters more. Anyone have any problem with trying to wake it up?"

I noticed everyone looked at Tali, who looked at me and shrugged. "You've already asked for my help. It's already under guard. The only thing I would suggest is that, when I wake it up, you be armed as well."

"It did seem to be friendly," Garrus stated, "Never thought I'd say that about a geth."

"Though I have no time for geth myself, I am growing my intrigued as to its presence on the Reaper. And there are many other questions starting to bubble up in my head, so tomorrow morning, I will probably wake it up. Grunt, Zaeed, I'll want you present and armed in case it does decide to do something stupid. Tali, I'll cover you personally."

"Can I send anything we learn back to the Fleet?"

"Of course."

"Thank you, Shepard. Maybe we'll learn something that'll give us an advantage."

"I think your people might be a little more circumspect after your father."

She nodded. "Xen has already been in communication. She discovered a lot of what my father was up to. She just called me a naïve young fool, though understood to a point. My father's name hasn't been destroyed. That's what mattered."

"Are you still vas Normandy?"

She nodded again. "I will be until I returned to the Fleet, Shepard. Not sure I'll return to the Neema after everything that happened. Although the captain supported me, going through that sort of trial does cause problems, even if found not guilty. There's also the chance I'll end up working on a ship dedicated to geth research."

After dinner, some of us wanted to chill out in the lounge, enjoying a drink or two. Though the mission had been successful, it was certainly not a celebration. It was simply the last piece of the puzzle before we headed off to the Omega Four. Kelly was cuddling into my side as always, Kasumi on the other, no doubt looking for a little affection from me as well. Kelly whispered something into my ear, which I whispered into Kasumi's. She loved the idea, and I grabbed their hands, leading them away.

Once upstairs, there was no wasting time from Kasumi as she stripped off, Kelly and I joining her on the bed. I was immediately between my Japanese lovers' legs, making her moan within seconds, hearing Kelly giggle beside me as I buried my face and ate her out. "Shepard!" Kasumi did cry out as I grinned to myself.

Kelly then tapped my shoulder, moving out of the way as she leaned down for a taste. Kasumi did lift her head for that and met my eyes. "Oh, I do believe I will return the favour," she stated.

Kelly thought that sounded like a good idea, so slid up the bed to hover over Kasumi's face, watching her lower her body down and Kasumi's tongue soon flicked out to taste her pussy. I lowered my mouth to resume eating out Kasumi, though I found her eating out Kelly rather distracting. Kelly turned around so she could at least look at me at the same time.

"She's good, Shepard," she breathed, "Love our threesomes. You pick women who can really eat pussy."

"Better than me?"

"Different. You own my body when you do it, Shepard."

Kasumi was soon distracted by what I was doing, Kelly giggling as Kasumi had to stop every so often to moan loudly, feeling her body shudder as I held onto her thighs, now spending plenty of time focusing on her clit. Not too much, otherwise she'd get overly sensitive. "Does she taste nice, Shepard?"

"I learned the very first time I would happily eat out my Japanese lover every time. Her scent is intoxicating and I love the hair." I looked up and met Kelly's eyes. "Just like I love you little patch. A true redhead, Kelly."

She smiled as I continued pleasing Kasumi, who couldn't take much more, feeling her wanting to squeeze her legs shut as she moaned loudly, her back arching slightly as she cried out. "Oh god," she moaned, and the fact she asked me to stop soon after wasn't a surprise. There was a lot going on for her to take in.

So I left Kasumi alone as she could re-focused on Kelly. I sat in front of her, sharing a kiss with her before I moved my mouth down her body, eventually focusing on those wonderful breasts she had. With Kasumi between her legs and me teasing her breasts while also using a hand to fondle her clit, the fact she came hard quickly wasn't a surprise.

Kelly collapsed onto the bed next to Kasumi as I sat back on my knees, looking over both of them, looking rather satisfied. Within a couple of minutes, both were on their knees before me, Kasumi eagerly swallowing my cock. Looking up at me, I ran a hand through her hair as her head was soon bobbing up and down quickly, and I wasn't going to last long.

"Share it with Kelly," I said,

I lasted five minutes at most. Nothing wrong with that, turned on as I was having caused one orgasm and witnessed another. Kasumi eagerly took my load in her mouth before she turned and kissed Kelly without hesitation, and once they each had a bit, they looked at me and grinned before making audible gulping noises. "God, I love doing that," Kelly said.

"I would have swallowed the whole lot," Kasumi added.

I needed time to recover after that, so having pleasured Kasumi, I threw Kelly down on the bed and pleased her instead, and this time she could eat out Kasumi at the same time. Kelly, turned on as she was, didn't last long until I had her shuddering at what I was doing, and I made her cum more than once. Only rarely did she ever ask me to stop after only the one. Giving her a chain of orgasms was always amusing, as it left her entire body like jelly, though she still managed to keep eating out Kasumi at the same time.

Stopping after the third one tore through her body, I lay beside her as Kasumi lowered herself down so the two women could please each other. Kelly noticed me to the side and definitely smirked. "Live show, Shepard."

I had them spin around so they were in the middle, and once I felt nice and hard again, I slid into Kasumi as she pleasured Kelly. Of course, I was too much of a distraction after a few minutes, and Kelly eventually moved herself from under Kasumi, instead laying in front of her, so Kelly could watch me as I really started to fuck Kasumi from behind. She had to look back for a moment. "Fuck me, Shepard," she moaned, "And you'd better cum in me too."

"Guaranteed."

Holding onto her hips, I was soon pounding her hard, as I wanted a good fuck, I wanted to cum, and then I wanted to sleep. I was already feeling the stresses and strains of the day. Having a long night of sex probably wasn't the best of ideas, but it was too good an opportunity to turn down, and I certainly wanted to have some more fun with Kasumi.

She was as wet, tight and welcoming as the first time, eventually stopping her focus on Kelly as I repositioned myself, crouching over her, really driving my cock in nice and hard. "Love your pussy," I whispered into her ear.

"Love your cock, Shepard. Been so long since I was fucked this well."

"Won't last much longer."

"Don't care. Loving it now."

Kelly moved so she could sit on her knees so she could kiss me or Kasumi, and the look in her eyes suggested she wanted a good fuck afterwards. Feeling my orgasm approach, I pulled back and managed to spin Kasumi around so she was on her back, spreading her legs wide as I slid back inside her and pounded her for another couple of minutes before I erupted. It was one hell of an enjoyable orgasm, her arms and legs wrapping around me as the exhaustion I'd been feeling really took hold. I felt Kelly kiss up my body before her lips were at my ear. "Okay, tomorrow morning, Shepard. You need sleep."

I nodded dumbly as I kissed Kasumi, her face one of utter bliss, considering she'd enjoyed herself that night as well. We all needed a shower after that, though it was nothing but a quick wash before we headed to bed. No surprise I was the first to fall asleep.

The next morning, after we had a little more fun, though Kelly was almost insistent that she ride my cock to orgasm more than once, we headed downstairs for breakfast, again to the consternation of Garrus, while Jack simply smirked as I sat with Kasumi to my left, Kelly to my right, both being rather affectionate as we ate breakfast. "Where was my invite?" she asked.

"Two women at once is hard work as it is," I replied.

"Well, you fuck one, the other can eat my pussy, Shepard. It's not that difficult to figure out. Or you fuck one, the one you fuck can eat pussy, as can the other. There are ways and means, Shepard."

"Sounds like your cabin is just going to turn into an orgy, Shepard," Garrus joked.

"Maybe after we've defeated the Collectors. I'll just have all the women lined up on hands and knees on my bed, fuck each one."

"Fuck, that's hot, Shepard," Jack stated.

"Long as I get a good fuck," Kelly whispered into my ear.

I shook my head, eating the rest of my meal in silence as conversation carried on between the groups. I had a feeling Miranda and Jacob had been fooling around as they were sat together, and I knew Miranda's 'I've been properly fucked' face. When she looked my way and I simply gazed back at her, the blush that appeared told me I was right.

"Good night, Jacob?"

"No complaints, Shepard. Or, at least, I hope I don't hear any."

Miranda glanced my way before looking back at Jacob. "My pussy is still red raw, Jacob."

"Now that I'd like to see," I stated with humour.

"Play your cards right, Shepard, and you can have my arse again as well."

Garrus looked straight at me again. "Fucking hell, Shepard!" he cried, slamming the table with his hand, laughing away.

"Hey, it was a threesome with Jacob. He took the front, I had the back."

"How the hell do you get anything else done?" he wondered, laughing away.

"It's a pleasant distraction." Clearing my throat, I looked at Tali, "Okay, once we're all finished here, I think it's time to deal with the geth. Get it done quickly."

Half an hour later, Tali and I were in the AI core, Zaeed and Grunt covering from the door leading in. The med-bay door was locked and secured. Outside was everyone else, including all members of my ground team, armed and ready in case the geth decided to attack. I didn't think it would get through the four of us, but it was better being cautious around such things. The IFF was already being tested, EDI ensuring the firewalls were in place and the ship was protected. She was now doing the same thing with the geth, ensuring it couldn't hamper the ship or any of us once it was awake.

"Okay, Tali. Get it done."

I gripped my shotgun a little tighter as she opened her omni-tool and got to work. The geth sparked more than once as she keyed a series of commands. Then we all seemed to hold our collective breath as it slowly started to wake up. First the light on its head turned on, before it started to slowly move, and it was bizarre in that it moved rather organically. Rising so it sat on the bench, it looked at Tali and I before clearly glancing past to see Zaeed and Grunt, and I heard the rustle and click of weapons and armour. Then it just stood there, looking at me, I guess waiting for whatever happened next.

"Do you understand me?"

"Yes," the geth replied. Tali gasped beside me, no doubt surprised at the fact it talked.

"Will you attack us?"

"No." That earned a scoff from Tali. Didn't blame her. The geth looked at her for a moment before returning its attention to me.

"Why not? Fought plenty of you before."

"We mean you no harm. And we have never fought you."

"I've fought a lot of geth. So have my companions. Why do you claim we have never met?"

"We are all geth, and we have never met you."

"How do you even know me? How do you know who I am?"

"You are Shepard-Commander. Human. You were born April 11, 2154. Birthplace: Earth. Parents: Unknown. Siblings: Unknown. Joined Systems Alliance Navy, April 11, 2172."

"Rightio. So you know a lot about me. But the never fighting the geth?"

"Commander of the SSV Normandy. Fought heretics. Killed by Collectors. Rediscovered on the Old Machine."

I couldn't help look at Tali, amazed already at what it seemed to know, and I had a feeling the longer we talked, the more secrets we might uncover. "You reckon it's dangerous?"

"Honestly? It seems pretty docile, Shepard. And it is unarmed at the moment. Maybe talking to it will help."

So that's what we did, basically a question and answer session. The geth had been sent to discover what it could about the 'Old Machines', otherwise known as Reapers. The surprise was the schism that apparently happened in the geth. Some geth had split off to support Saren and the Reapers, the rest, including this geth unit, chose not to support Saren. That explained what it meant by 'heretics'.

More importantly, it had been sent to find me as the geth wished to help in the battle against the Collectors and the Reapers, perhaps in the hope of fostering a better relationship between organics and the geth. To that, Tali was ready to start blasting, as the hatred the quarians had for the geth was almost unmatched. Perhaps only krogan hatred for the salarians could be considered similar.

By that stage, I'd dismissed everyone else except Tali, who no doubt wanted her own conversation with the geth. Hearing it wanted to join my team, I called Miranda in, who didn't have a problem with it, but asked if we should let the Illusive Man know. "He'll find out regardless," I suggested, "Just tell him and be done with it."

"I'll let him know immediately but let it be known the geth is only here temporarily… like nearly everyone else, I guess."

"Thanks, Miranda." Looking back at the geth, I added, "So I guess we need to know what to call you."

"Geth."

"No, I mean you specifically."

"We are all geth."

I groaned in frustration. "No. The machine stood in front of me. What should I call you?"

"There is no individual, Shepard-Commander, for we are all geth. There are currently 1183 programs within this platform."

"Shepard, I believe a passage from the Gospel of Mark, chapter 5, verse 9 in the New Testament of the Christian Bible may offer the perfect name for the geth platform. "And he asked him, What is your name? And he answered, saying, my name is Legion: for we are many."

"Good suggestion, EDI." He looked at the geth. "Would that name suffice?"

"We acknowledge this as an appropriate metaphor. We are Legion. We wish to integrate with the Normandy."

So now we had a geth on board. Whatever will they think of next!